Oftentimes, it is desirable to have a door control system on an apparatus such as an oven which locks the door or at least biases the door to a closed orientation. Other types of devices have been attempted, such as latches and magnets. Latches and other types of connectors have the inherent problem of sanitation in that they are difficult to keep clean in a cooking environment where the door control mechanism is attached to an oven. Items like magnets can be effective to supply a closing force; however, many natural magnets are temperature sensitive and the magnetic properties can break down after a certain temperature threshold.
Another issue with doors in certain environments, such as culinary environments, is that it is desirable to know whether a door (such as an oven door) is closed or open. Having a door partially closed can be problematic because heat may be lost, or a switch mechanism may turn off the heating element if the door is not sufficiently visibly open and the chef or other person attending to the door does not notice the door is not entirely closed.
Therefore, there is a need for a door which biases to a closed position, and after the prescribed amount of rotation, biases to an open orientation. Further, as shown herein in one embodiment, the force placed on the door to open or close the door does not occur through the entire range of motion, but in one preferred form, after the door is open beyond say 20°, there is not an opening or closing force acting thereon. Rather, in one form there can be a frictional force to ensure the door is maintained at a certain orientation without rotating open or closed, which is an issue if the oven is not properly leveled (or more specifically, the axis of rotation of the door is not in line with the flux field of gravity).